Researchers from Northwestern University say that they've found two components of DNA that play a part in determining if a male will be gay, the Guardian reported Feb. 14.
The findings, presented at the annual meeting American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago Feb. 13, suggest that genetics do have a significant role in determining sexual orientation, at least for men. The work has not yet been published, nor do the researchers precisely know how significant the link is.
J. Michael Bailey, a professor in Northwestern's psychology department, explained the findings. According to the study, regions of the X chromosome and chromosome 8 impacted male sexual behavior. The work seems to confirm results from a 1993 study that said homosexuality tended to be an inherited trait.
Some activists have been dubious about such findings and fear they might ultimately lead to genetics testing that could detect gay fetuses. But many researchers are for now dismissing such fears, saying that current findings only confirm a partial link between genetics and orientation.
"This is not controversial or surprising and is nothing people should worry about. All human psychological traits are heritable, that is, they have a genetic component," Qazi Rahman, a psychologist at King's College London, told the Guardian. "Genetic factors explain 30 to 40 percent of the variation between people's sexual orientation. However, we don't know where these genetic factors are located in the genome."
Bailey's colleague, Alan Sanders, clinical associate Professor of Psychiatry at Northwestern, also warned against oversimplifying the results, according to the Independent.
"We also don't think genetics is the whole story. It's not. And whatever genes contribute to sexual orientation, you can think of it contributing to heterosexuality as much as you can think of it contributing to homosexuality. It contributes to variation of a trait," said Sanders, who led the study.
Among Bailey's specialties is human sexuality, and his research and teachings have been controversial. A study about trans women published in 2003 was blasted for being defamatory and uninformed about trans issues. In 2011, he got into trouble with Northwestern's administration after guests he invited to one of his classes performed an after-class demonstration of a sex toy.